System and method for facilitating online chat edits

ABSTRACT

A method includes receiving a plurality of textual data from one or more users within an online chat group. The method also includes rendering the plurality of textual data for each user of the online chat group. The method includes further enabling one user from the online chat group to edit a textual data originated by another user from the online chat group. A notification is rendered on a graphical user interface (GUI) that the textual data originated by the another user has been edited. In response to a user selection thereof, the edit is accepted, rejected, or further edited.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of computersupported meeting/conferencing. More specifically, and withoutlimitation, this disclosure relates to systems and methods forfacilitating edits to chat postings in an online group.

BACKGROUND

Recent advancements in technology, and in particular online technology,have led to an increased use of online forums to disseminate informationand communicate. For example, use of various online conferences and chatgroups have become prevalent in communication. In one nonlimitingexample, a user of a chat communication service may create an onlinechat group/team to disseminate information and communicate to themembers of that chat group/team.

Unfortunately, chat communications may contain errors and inaccuracies.Errors and inaccuracies may range from typographical errors to moresubstantive errors. For example, some errors may include grammaticalerrors, incorrect references to names, incorrect omission/inclusion of anegating verb, incorrect references to document number (e.g., versionnumber), etc. Errors in chat communications may cause confusion amongstthe group members and the same errors often persist in the chathistories. Conventionally, the message, once posted by the messageoriginator, cannot be corrected, e.g., marked up, etc., by other groupmembers.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, a need has arisen to enable group members of an online chatgroup to edit messages posted by other participants. In someembodiments, the chat communication system may be part of a video/audioconferencing system and in other embodiments it may be a standalonesystem. The chat communication system may enable group members tosuggest and make edits to messages posted by other participants. In somenonlimiting examples, the group members or a subset thereof may haveunrestricted ability to make suggestions and to edit posted messages,while in some embodiments, the rights of the original poster of theposted message(s) may be preserved such that any suggestion or change tothe posted message is either accepted by the original poster, rejectedby the original poster, modified by the original poster or sent to oneor more group members for further edits and/or feedback. Thecommunication system, in other words, enables the group members of anonline chat group to collaborate on certain posted messages that maycontain error(s) and inaccuracies, and, to make appropriate changes, asneeded. The communication system may also calculate a score associatedwith each member based on the member's prior edits, the member's priorinvolvements, the member's background (e.g., educational background, jobtitle, group/organization, etc.), the member's accuracy of prior edits(e.g., feedback mechanism such as thumbs up/down by other groupmembers), etc. As such, the score is a confidence score associated witha member suggesting or making certain changes to a posted message.

In some embodiments, a method includes receiving a plurality of textualdata from one or more users within an online chat group. The method mayfurther include rendering the plurality of textual data for each user ofthe online chat group. One user from the online chat group is enabled toedit a textual data originated by another user from the online chatgroup. A notification is rendered on a graphical user interface (GUI)that the textual data originated by the another user has been edited. Inresponse to a user selection thereof, the edit is accepted, rejected, orfurther edit is made to the textual data.

The method may further include enabling the another user to modify thetextual data. In some embodiments, in response to a user selectionthereof, a comment associated with the edit is inserted. In somenonlimiting examples, the comment is rendered to a subset of the userswithin the online chat group. It is appreciated that the user selectionis received from the another user originating the textual data accordingto some embodiments. According to some nonlimiting examples, the onlinechat group is within an online conferencing environment. The textualdata may be transcription of a video or audio conference.

In some embodiments, the method may further include rendering additionalnotification on the GUI. The additional notification identifies the oneuser editing the textual data. It is appreciated that the edit to thetextual data may be rendered to the one or more users.

In some embodiments, the method includes calculating a confidence scoreassociated with the one user, wherein the confidence score reflects theaccuracy of the edit to the textual data. It is appreciated that theconfidence score may be calculated based on prior edits made by the oneuser, a relationship between the one user and other users within theonline chat group, or expertise background of the one user in comparisonto a content of the textual data.

In some embodiments, the method further includes processing the textualdata using a natural language processing. The textual data may bemodified based on the processing and the another user may be notifiedthat the textual data has been modified.

It is appreciated that in some embodiments, the method further includesprocessing electronic communication within the online chat group andoutside the online chat group to identify a source of confusionassociated with the textual data. The textual data may be modified basedon the processing and the identification of the source of confusion. Theanother user may be notified that the textual data has been modified.

These and other features and aspects of the concepts described hereinmay be better understood with reference to the following drawings,description, and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a communication system according to someembodiments.

FIG. 2A shows a first user of the communication system posting a messagein an online chat group according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2B shows a second user of the communication system posting amessage using the communication system according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2C shows the second user of the communication system editing aprior posted message according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2D is a GUI rendered to the first user of the communication systemaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 2E is a GUI rendered to the second user of the communication systemaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 2F are options available to the first user with respect to theedits according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2G shows a third user posting messages using the communicationsystem according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2H shows edits being made by the third user of the communicationsystem according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2I shows the first user reviewing edits for prior posted messagesaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 2J shows remedial actions by the first user with respect to theedits according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2K shows other users of the online group editing posted messagesaccording to some embodiments.

FIGS. 3A-3C show a flow chart for editing posted message according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting an example of computer systemsuitable for editing posted message in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The example embodiments described herein are directed to a communicationsystem configured to facilitate communication between online users.Communication may be through an online collaboration tool, online forum,online group, online team, webinar, chat team, etc. The communicationsystem may also facilitate communication between users via telephonyand/or video conferencing, etc. In some embodiments, the audio exchangesbetween the users may be transcribed and displayed in a chatenvironment.

The communication system is configured to facilitate data exchanges,e.g., audio data, video data, content data (e.g., PowerPoint®, Word®,PDF, etc.), messaging (e.g., instant messaging), etc., amongst users. Itis appreciated that the term “user(s)” generally refers to participantsof a communication session, whether as host, invitee(s) or teammember(s). It is also appreciated that the term “user” is usedinterchangeably with “member” or “participant” throughout theapplication.

A host, an administrator or any online user may create an onlinegroup/team using the communication system. For example, a user maycreate an online group or team via a chat function of the communicationsystem. As another example, a user may create an online group for avideo conferencing session. It is appreciated that the term “group” or“team” has been used interchangeably throughout the application.

Once an online team has been created, one or more members of the teamcan share electronic data/content with other users (i.e. team members).For example, a team member (whether the host or another team member) maypost content and messages to share with other team members.

One or more users within an online chat group may encounter errorsand/or inaccuracies associated with one or more posted messages. It isappreciated that the terms “errors” and “inaccuracies” are usedinterchangeably throughout the application. The communication system,according to some embodiments, enables a user within the online chatgroup (i.e. originator of the posted message or a user other than theoriginator of the posted message) to correct the posted message that isperceived to contain errors. It is appreciated that the communicationsystem may be a browser-based system. According to a nonlimitingexample, a graphical user interface (GUI) is presented to a user (eitherin response to a user selection thereof or automatically) where the usercan edit one or more posted messages by the user itself or by anotheruser. The GUI may be within the online chat environment or presented ina separate window. The user may edit the posted messages of other usersas if they were originated by the user itself. In some embodiments, thechanges being made are rendered in a marked-up format, whereas in otherembodiments, the changes being made are rendered in a clean format. Itis appreciated that the user may select a view, e.g., marked-up orclean. In addition to the changes made, the user may insert comments orrequest feedback from the originator of the message or from other userswithin the online chat group. Once edits are made, the user may activatea button to post the changes (either to the originator of the postedmessage that has been changed or to a subset of the users within theonline chat group).

It is appreciated that in some embodiments, a subset of the users withinthe online chat group may have unrestricted editing abilities, such thatchanges being made are final without formal acceptance by the originatorof the posted message. However, the unrestricted or tiered abilities tomake edits to posted messages may be managed by the host oradministrator who has created the online group chat or by a user havingpower delegated to them from the host, as an example.

It is appreciated that in some embodiments, the changes or suggestionsmade by a user are provided to the originator of the posted message. Inother words, the originator of the posted message is notified of certaininaccuracies and that changes are being made and/or proposed to theposted message(s). The originator of the posted message may similarlyuse a GUI to accept the changes, to reject the change, to make furtheredits, to insert a comment for a subset of the users, to requestfeedback, to send a message regarding the edits to a user (any user ofthe online chat group), or to send a thank you message to the usersuggesting/making the changes, etc. It is appreciated that the edits mayalso be rendered to other users of the online chat group and, as such,other users may further collaborate in making additional changes asneeded, utilizing a similar GUI. It is further appreciated that changesmay be rendered to users of the online chat group, and any user or asubset of the users may further provide feedback on the proposedchanges, e.g., thumbs up, thumbs down, etc. According to somenonlimiting examples, the status of the changes, e.g., whether accepted,rejected, further edited, etc., may be displayed to the user thatproposed/made the changes.

Accordingly, each user of the online chat group develops a history thatis tracked, based on prior edits (either within the same online chatgroup or other online chat groups), based on accuracy of the changesproposed by the user from prior edits, based on the user's background(e.g., user's title, user's education, user's organization/team, etc.),based on the relationship of the user to other users and the host of theonline chat group, based on the alignment of the content in the postedmessages and the user's expertise, etc. The tracked history can be usedto calculate a confidence score associated with each user. It isappreciated that the confidence score may be calculated based on anumber of different factors, e.g., number of typo corrections that havebeen accepted/rejected, the number of content corrections that have beenaccepted/rejected, etc. The factors used to calculate the confidencescore may be weighted differently, e.g., the number of accepted/rejectedcorrections for content may be weighted higher than typographicalcorrections. The confidence score for a user can be used by other usersto make an informed decision on the appropriate course of actionregarding messages those other users have originated and to whichchanges have been made or proposed by the user, e.g., accepting thechanges, rejecting the changes, proposing additional edits, requestinginput and feedback from other users of the online chat group, etc. Forexample, if a user has a low confidence score, reflecting the fact thatthe user is often making inappropriate changes to posted messages, thenperhaps the more appropriate course of action is to investigate thechanges, whereas changes being proposed by a user with a higherconfidence score may be accepted with minimal investigation and withmore reassurance that the change is the appropriate course of action.

It is appreciated that in some embodiments, machine learning techniques,such as natural language processing (NLP) and sentiment analysis, isused to parse the posted messages. The context for each posted messagemay be determined, and based on that context, it may be determinedwhether changes to a given posted message are appropriate to improve theaccuracy, correctness, or general quality of the message. For example, aposted message may read “I have been so busy I had time to review thedocument.” Processing the message using NLP indicates that theoriginator of the message probably inadvertently left out “didn't” fromthe posted message. As such, appropriate changes to the posted messagemay be suggested to the originator of the posted message or such changesmay automatically be made by the communication system. Moreover, in someembodiments, monitoring communication between a subset of the users ofthe online chat group (within the chat environment or outside) mayreveal that there is confusion with respect to a posted message. Forexample, a posted message may reference an attached document with thewrong file name. Discussions within the online chat environment oroutside (e.g., audio calls, emails, etc.) may reveal the discrepancythat is causing the confusion. As such, remedial actions may be taken,e.g., originator of the posted message may be notified to takeappropriate action, the posted message may be modified, etc.

Before various example embodiments are described in greater detail, itshould be understood that the embodiments are not limiting, as elementsin such embodiments may vary. It should likewise be understood that aparticular embodiment described and/or illustrated herein has elementswhich may be readily separated from the particular embodiment andoptionally combined with any of several other embodiments or substitutedfor elements in any of several other embodiments described herein.

It should also be understood that the terminology used herein is for thepurpose of describing concepts, and the terminology is not intended tobe limiting. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientificterms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by thoseskilled in the art to which the embodiment pertains.

Unless indicated otherwise, ordinal numbers (e.g., first, second, third,etc.) are used to distinguish or identify different elements or steps ina group of elements or steps, and do not supply a serial or numericallimitation on the elements or steps of the embodiments thereof. Forexample, “first,” “second,” and “third” elements or steps need notnecessarily appear in that order, and the embodiments thereof need notnecessarily be limited to three elements or steps. It should also beunderstood that the singular forms of “a,” “an,” and “the” includeplural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions that follow are presented interms of procedures, methods, flows, logic blocks, processing, and othersymbolic representations of operations performed on a computing deviceor a server. These descriptions are the means used by those skilled inthe arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work toothers skilled in the art. In the present application, a procedure,logic block, process, or the like, is conceived to be a self-consistentsequence of operations or steps or instructions leading to a desiredresult. The operations or steps are those utilizing physicalmanipulations of physical quantities. Usually, although not necessarily,these quantities take the form of electrical, optical or magneticsignals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, andotherwise manipulated in a computer system or computing device or aprocessor. These signals are sometimes referred to as transactions,bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, samples, pixels, or thelike.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the present disclosure,discussions utilizing terms such as “storing,” “determining,” “sending,”“receiving,” “generating,” “creating,” “fetching,” “transmitting,”“facilitating,” “providing,” “forming,” “detecting,” “processing,”“calculating,” “updating,” “instantiating,” “identifying,” “rendering,”“utilizing,” “launching,” “calling,” “starting,” “accessing,” “sending,”“conferencing,” “triggering,” “ending,” “suspending,” “terminating,”“monitoring,” “displaying,” “removing,” “enabling,” “accepting,”“rejecting,” “editing,” “modifying,” “inserting,” “notifying,” or thelike, refer to actions and processes of a computer system or similarelectronic computing device or processor. The computer system or similarelectronic computing device manipulates and transforms data representedas physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system memories,registers or other such information storage, transmission or displaydevices.

It is appreciated that present systems and methods can be implemented ina variety of architectures and configurations. For example, presentsystems and methods can be implemented as part of a distributedcomputing environment, a cloud computing environment, a client serverenvironment, hard drive, etc. Example embodiments described herein maybe discussed in the general context of computer-executable instructionsresiding on some form of computer-readable storage medium, such asprogram modules, executed by one or more computers, computing devices,or other devices. By way of example, and not limitation,computer-readable storage media may comprise computer storage media andcommunication media. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that performparticular tasks or implement particular data types. The functionalityof the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired invarious embodiments.

Computer storage media can include volatile and nonvolatile, removableand non-removable media implemented in any method or technology forstorage of information such as computer-readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media caninclude, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read onlymemory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flashmemory, or other memory technology, compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disks (DVDs) or other optical storage, solid state drives,hard drives, hybrid drive, or any other medium that can be used to storethe desired information and that can be accessed to retrieve thatinformation.

Communication media can embody computer-executable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signalsuch as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes anyinformation delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media can include wired media such asa wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared and other wireless media.Combinations of any of the above can also be included within the scopeof computer-readable storage media.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a communication system according to someembodiments. The communication system 120 may be used to form an onlinegroup/team and enables the members of the online group to communicatewith one another (i.e. electronic communication such asvideoconferencing, audioconferencing, electronic messages, documentsharing, etc.). For illustrative purposes that should not be construedas limiting the scope of the embodiments, a team member (whether thehost or another team member) may post electronic messages to share withother team members. It is appreciated that electronic messages may betextual data that may be posted within an online chat environment of thecommunication system 120 and shared between the users. For example, anyuser of the online group (i.e. users 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, . . . ,109) may post or communicate data with other users of the group afterthe online group is formed. In one nonlimiting example, user 101 maycommunicate by sharing content and/or posting electronic messages 111for other users of the online group using the conferencing system 120.Similarly, users 102-109 may communicate by sharing content and/orposting electronic messages 112-119 to share with other users of theonline group using the conferencing system 120.

It is appreciated that in some embodiments, electronic messages that arenot textual may be converted into textual format and displayed for theusers. For example, an audio portion of a video conference may betranscribed and posted as electronic messages, in a similar manner to acourt transcript.

It is appreciated that one or more users 101-109 within an online chatgroup may encounter errors and/or inaccuracies associated with one ormore posted electronic messages. The communication system 120 enables auser within the online chat group (i.e. originator of the posted messageor a user other than the originator of the posted message) to correctthe posted message that is perceived to contain errors. In someembodiments, the originator of the posted message (whether postingelectronic messages within the online chat environment or whetherparticipating in a video or audio conference session from which theirspeech is transcribed to text and posted as electronic messages withinthe online chat environment) may be notified that a change to the postedelectronic message has been proposed or made. In some nonlimitingexamples, the originator of the message is enabled to take remedialaction to correct the errors, e.g., by accepting the changes, bymodifying the changes, by asking for more feedback from other userswithin the online chat group, etc.

In some embodiments, a subset of the users within the online chat groupmay have unrestricted abilities or tiered ability to make certainchanges to the posted electronic messages. For example, a subset of theusers 101-109 may have unrestricted authority (i.e. provided by theadministrator or the host who has created the online chat group) to makechanges to any of the posted electronic messages without requiring aformal acceptance by the originator of the posted electronic message,while in other embodiments the changes are not accepted unless theoriginator of the posted messages or the host approves the changes. Inyet other embodiments, a tiered authority may be provided whereincertain changes by a user may be made without requiring approval fromthe originator of the posted electronic message while other changescannot be made without the approval (e.g., typographical changes may bemade without approval while substantive changes cannot be made withoutapproval). It is also appreciated that different users of the onlinechat group may be given different authorities to make changes, e.g.,some users may have unrestricted authority to make changes while otherusers have limited authority to make changes and yet other members maybe given no authority to make changes.

FIG. 2A shows a GUI for a first user (i.e., Martin) of the communicationsystem posting a message in an online chat group, according to someembodiments. The communication system 120 renders a GUI for postingelectronic messages. In this nonlimiting example, the user “Martin” hasposted an electronic message 201 on Nov. 23, 2020 at 3:02 PM to otherusers of the online group that states: “All, spec for release 12.01 isdue on Tuesday. Submit your comments.” The electronic message 201 isposted and displayed for each user of the online group. Martin may alsobe referred to as the originator of the posted electronic message 201.It is appreciated that the communication system 120 may also includeother functionalities. For example, an icon 260, once activated,initiates a video call to all participants of the team; an icon 270,once activated, initiates an audio call to all participants of the team;an icon 280, once activated, shares content and/or electronic message(s)with others; and icon 290 may provide additional functionalities onceselected.

FIG. 2B shows a second user (i.e., Chris) of the communication systemposting a message using the communication system according to someembodiments. In this nonlimiting example, the second user “Chris” postsan electronic message 202 in response to the electronic message 201.However, Chris has noticed errors in the prior posted messages andwishes to correct the errors. It is appreciated that the prior postedmessages may be by a user other than Chris and/or it may be the priorposted messages by Chris himself. In this nonlimiting example, Chris hasnoticed errors in the prior posted messages by Martin and wishes to makeappropriate corrections. Accordingly, a modify 210 icon is activated toenable Chris to launch a GUI enabling him to edit the prior postedmessages. It is appreciated that once changes are made, a retractmodification 220 icon may be activated to retract the changes being madeby the user (i.e., Chris in this example), while activating the review230 icon enables the user to review the changes that have been made orare being proposed. For example, activating the review 230 icon enablesChris to review the changes that have been made by Chris and/or otherusers (in this example there are none, but in other nonlimitingexamples, other users may have made changes prior to Chris). It isappreciated that the embodiments are described with respect toactivating various icons to make changes, to review, to retract, etc.,for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting thescope of the embodiments. For example, in some embodiments no icon maybe needed to make changes and the user may simply click within theposted electronic message 201 box to start typing and making changes.

FIG. 2C shows the second user, Chris, of the communication systemediting a prior posted message 201 according to some embodiments. Inthis nonlimiting example, Chris makes changes to the release number from12.01 to 12.07 to form a modified posted electronic message 203. It isappreciated that the changes may be displayed as marked-up where theadded material are displayed as underlines and the deleted material aredisplayed as strikethroughs. In some nonlimiting examples the identityof the user, in this example Chris, that has proposed or made changes tothe posted electronic messages may be displayed in close proximity tothe changes being made or proposed. For example, the name Chris 212Aappears above the changes that are being proposed or made. In somenonlimiting examples, a status identifier may be used for the postedelectronic messages that are changed. For example, the status identifier214 may be used to show that the posted message by Martin has beenchanged or a change is proposed. It is appreciated that the user makingthe changes, e.g., Chris in this example, may send the proposed changes,once made, by activating a send 212 icon. In other embodiments, theproposed changes may be displayed without a need to activate the send212 icon and displayed once other users are within the online chatenvironment. According to some embodiments a notification identifier 213may be used to illustrate graphically whether the changes havesuccessfully been posted and/or whether the originator of the postedmessage has been notified that the changes are made.

FIG. 2D is a GUI rendered to the first user, Martin, of thecommunication system, according to some embodiments. In thisillustrative example, the status identifier 214 is displayedillustrating to Martin, the originator of the posted message 201, thatchanges have been proposed or made to the posted message 201 to form theposted message 203. In this nonlimiting example, Martin may view thechanges by activating the review 230 icon or the changes mayautomatically be rendered as marked-up on the GUI. In this example, auser that has made changes or has proposed changes to the posted messagemay be identified. For example, in this example, the name of themodifier (i.e. Chris) may be displayed above the changes to the postedmessage. The posted message originator may provide feedback to thechanges by making an appropriate selection of the feedback icon 233. Forexample, activating a thumbs up icon indicates that the changes areappropriate while activating a thumbs down icon indicates that thechanges are not appropriate. The feedback may be used to generate aconfidence score associated with each user and is discussed in greaterdetail later in the specification. It is appreciated that other usersmay provide their feedback to the edited message(s). For example, insome nonlimiting examples, content may be edited by a participant andapproved by the participant originating the message, however, otherusers may dislike the edit, resulting in the confidence score of themessage originator and the editor to be lowered.

It is appreciated that in some nonlimiting examples, the user posting amessage may mark the message as not editable by other users, oralternatively, as editable only by a subset of the users. In someembodiments, the communication system may mark a message as not editablebased on the content of the posted message. For example, in someembodiments, the communication system may evaluate the content of theposted message and compare it to other communications, e.g., emailexchanges, phone calls, other chat messages, etc., in order to identifydefinitive information within those other communications (i.e., if thereis a match, then the definitive information from the othercommunications can be used to make the post uneditable; if there is amismatch, then the definitive information from the other communicationscan be used to make the post editable). The definitive information is atype of authoritative information that is final, definite and should notbe overridden because its content has been verified and determined to beaccurate. Consequently, any content found in posted messages thatmatches the definitive information found from definitive source ismarked as uneditable and/or made uneditable to other users. In contrast,the content of the posted message that does not match the definitiveinformation found from definitive sources is editable. For example, theposted message may be made editable when a due date for completion of anIT service ticket, which is mentioned by a user within the content of aposted message, is compared to the hard due date for competition that islisted within a comprehensive and definitive service ticketing systemand the comparison results in a mismatch. In this example, thecomprehensive service ticketing system serves as the source ofdefinitive information. In some embodiments, the other source(s) ofcommunication may be used by the system to actively suggest correctionsor edits to posted message based on the definitive information. It isappreciated that in some embodiments, multiple sources of communications(e.g., ticketing systems, CRM systems, emails, etc.) may becross-referenced in order to determine definitive information (i.e.,uneditable message(s)) and/or overriding information (i.e., editablemessages). According to some embodiments the communication system maymark a message as editable by a particular participant, e.g., Chris onlyin this example, based on other communications, e.g., email exchanges,telephone calls, meetings, etc. As such, the particular participant maybe invited to edit the posted message.

In this example, Martin activates the review 230 icon to review thechanges being proposed or made by Chris, which is discussed in greaterdetail below with respect to FIG. 2F. Referring now to FIG. 2E, a GUIrendered to the second user, Chris, of the communication system,according to some embodiments, is shown. In this example, thenotification identifier 213 is shaded to illustrate the changes beingproposed by Chris have been viewed by Martin. Referring now to FIG. 2F,options available to the first user with respect to the edits, accordingto some embodiments, are shown. In this nonlimiting example, activatingthe review 230 icon may present additional options to the messageoriginator Martin. For example, Martin may accept the changes byactivating the accept 232 icon, reject the changes by activating thereject 234 icon, propose additional modification by activating proposemodification 236 icon, or request feedback from Chris or other userswithin the online chat group by activating the request comments 238icon. It is appreciated that comments provided in response to activatingthe request comments 238 icon may be received and rendered on a GUI ofthe user requesting the comment. In some nonlimiting examples, thecomments provided in response to activating the request comments 238icon may be emailed to the user requesting the comment or it may berendered in a private chat messaging between the two users. It isappreciated that the icons, as shown, are for illustrative purposes andnot intended to limit the scope of the embodiments. For example,accepting the changes, rejecting the changes, proposing modification,requesting comments, etc., may be done without activating any icons andby activating a right click button of the mouse to reveal a dropdownmenu from which one of the aforementioned options may be selected.

Referring now to FIG. 2G, a third user (i.e. Eric) posting messagesusing the communication system, according to some embodiments, is shown.In this illustrative example, Eric may post an electronic message 204.Moreover, it is appreciated that the GUI displays prior postedelectronic messages to Eric. In some embodiments, the prior electronicmessages may be displayed as marked-up along with the identity of theuser that has proposed or made changes to the posted electronicmessages. In this nonlimiting example, Eric views that the electronicposted message by Martin has been changed or changes have been proposedby Chris. Moreover, Eric may, similar to Martin, provide feedback onwhether the proposed changes are appropriate or not by activating thefeedback icon 233.

Referring now to FIG. 2H, edits being made by the third user, Eric, ofthe communication system, according to some embodiments, are shown. Inthis nonlimiting example, Eric may notice inaccuracies associated withprior posted electronic messages by Martin or Chris. In this example,Eric perceives the port number to be erroneous and proceeds to make andpropose changes to the posted message 202 to form a modified postedmessage 205, as described above. A status identifier 214 also displaysand flags the posted message to indicate that the posted message hasbeen modified. Moreover, the identity of the modifier who has made thechanges or is proposing the changes, in this example Eric, may bereflected in close proximity to the changes. In this example, theidentity 212B of the modifier to the posted electronic message 202 isdisplayed and forms the modified posted message 205.

Referring now to FIG. 2I, the first user Martin reviewing edits to priorposted messages, according to some embodiments, is shown. In thisexample, Martin posts another electronic message 206. It is appreciatedthat the icons, as described above, are not illustrated for simplicity.In this nonlimiting example, changes being proposed or being made byother users within the online chat group may be displayed to Martin. Itis appreciated that the edits may be accepted, rejected, modified, etc.,as described above in FIGS. 2D and 2F. It is appreciated that aconfidence score of the message originator may decrease if the messageoriginator approves wrong edits or rejects correct edits. Similarly, aconfidence score of the message editor may decrease if proposed editsare wrong and the confidence score may increase if the proposed editsare correct. Referring now to FIG. 2J, remedial action by the first userwith respect to the edits according to some embodiments is shown. Inthis example, Martin may have reviewed the changes and accepted thechanges being proposed to change the release version from 12.01 to12.07, whereas rejecting changing the port number from 2 to 3. Thechanges being accepted and rejected may be shown in clean form now.However, a user within the online chat group may select to activate aviewing option to display the history of the changes to any of theposted electronic messages. For example, a user may activate the statusidentifier 214 next to the posted messages to show the history ofchanges to that posted electronic message. In this example, Martinadditionally has made changes to Eric's posted electronic message 204 tocorrect the spelling of “tble” to “table”. As such, the changes may bedisplayed as strikethroughs and underlines. Once the changes are made,Martin's identity 212C may be rendered in close proximity to the changesthat are made and the status identifier 214 may be flagged to illustratethat changes are made or proposed to the electronic message 204.

Referring now to FIG. 2K, other users of the online group editing postedmessages, according to some embodiments, is shown. Users of the onlinechat group may display the history of the changes in their respectiveGUI by activating the status identifier 214 associated with a postedelectronic message. In this nonlimiting example, other users of theonline chat group, Tiffany and Raul may propose changes to the postedmessage 206 of FIG. 2J to form a modified posted electronic message 207,similar to the process discussed above. It is appreciated that theidentity of the users proposing and making the changes to the postedmessage(s) may be displayed. In this nonlimiting example, the identity212D of Tiffany may be reflected and displayed in close proximity to theedits being made by Tiffany, whereas the identity 212E of Raul may bereflected and displayed in close proximity to the edits being made byRaul. It is appreciated that the changes may be accepted, rejected,modified, or feedback from other users may be requested, as describedabove. It is also appreciated, that in some embodiments, a subset of theusers of the online chat group may have unrestricted authority to makechanges without requiring a confirmation by the originator of themessage. Also, as described above, some users may have tiered editingprivileges to make certain changes without requiring confirmation by theoriginator of the messages, whereas other changes may require aconfirmation by the originator of the electronic message.

It is appreciated that each user of the online chat group develops ahistory that is tracked, based on prior edits (either within the sameonline chat group or other online chat groups), based on accuracy of thechanges proposed by the user from prior edits, based on the user'sbackground (e.g., user's title, user's education, user'sorganization/team, etc.), based on the relationship of the user to otherusers and the host of the online chat group, based on the alignment ofthe content in the posted messages and the user's expertise (e.g.,messages discussing artificial intelligence and the user working for anartificial intelligence group), etc. The tracked history can be used tocalculate a confidence score associated with each user. As anon-limiting example, the confidence score can be assigned to each userof every chat group when the chat group is initially created. As such,the same user can have different confidence scores in different chatgroups. For example, after the initial creation of the chat group, eachuser may be assigned a confidence score equal to 5 of 10, where 10represents the most trustworthy and 1 represents the least trustworthy.During communications in the chat group, and all actions taken by theuser for suggesting edits and/or voting for or against edits will affecthis/her confidence score (e.g. each correct typo correction increasesthe confidence score by 0.25 points, each wrong typo correctiondecreases the confidence score by 0.25 points, each correct contentcorrection increases the confidence score by 0.75 points, and each wrongcontent correction decreases the confidence score by 0.75 points). Theconfidence score can be used by other users to make an informed decisionon the appropriate course of action regarding messages those other usershave originated and to which changes have been made or proposed by theuser, e.g., accepting the changes, rejecting the changes, proposingadditional edits, requesting input and feedback from other users of theonline chat group, etc. For example, if a user has a low confidencescore, reflecting the fact that the user is often making inappropriatechanges to posted messages then perhaps the more appropriate course ofaction is to investigate the changes, whereas changes being proposed bya user with a higher confidence score may be accepted with minimalinvestigation and with more reassurance that the changes being proposedby the user are appropriate. It is appreciated that the confidence scoreassociated with each user may be displayed in close proximity to theidentity of the user proposing or making changes to the posted messages.For example, in some embodiments, the confidence score associated withTiffany may be displayed close to the identity 212D, thereby enablingthe message originator (i.e., Martin) to make an informed decision onwhether to accept the changes. In another example, calculations of votesfor or against edits can be made by using the confidence score as amultiplier to each user's one vote.

It is appreciated that in some embodiments, NLP and sentiment analysisis used to analyze the posted messages. The context for each postedmessage may be determined, and based on that context, it may bedetermined whether changes to a given posted message are appropriate toimprove the accuracy, correctness, or general quality of the message.For example, a posted message 206 may read “I have been so busy I didget a chace to review the table.” Processing the message 206 using NLPindicates that the Martin probably inadvertently left out “n′t” at theend of “did” in the posted message. As such, appropriate changes to theposted message may be suggested to the originator of the posted messageor it may automatically be made by the communication system.

In some embodiments, a machine learning algorithm may be used forsentiment analysis. For example, a machine learning algorithm used forsentiment analysis may leverage NLP, text analysis, computationallinguistics, biometrics, etc., to identify, extract and quantify theinformation contained in the posted message. In one nonlimiting example,a sentiment analysis may identify the emotional state of the postedmessage as “unhappy” whereas the NLP processing may indicate otherwise,thereby enabling the algorithm to flag the posted message as missing aphrase, e.g., the posted message may indicate “I′m happy with theprogress” but sentiment analysis may reveal that deadlines have beenmissed and the product launch has been postponed, thereby highlyindicative that a phrase “not” has been inadvertently left out from theposted message “I'm happy”.

It is appreciated that in some embodiments, communication between asubset of the users of the online chat group (within the chatenvironment or outside) may reveal that there is confusion with respectto a posted message. For example, online chats between a subset of theusers of the online chat group, email exchanges between the users,content of audio calls between users, etc., may reveal that asignificant number of users are confused about the table referred to byEric in the posted electronic message 204. As such, remedial actions maybe taken, e.g., originator of the posted message Eric may be notified totake appropriate action, the posted message may be modified, etc.

Accordingly, it is appreciated that not only a platform for editingposted electronic messages is provided to the users within the onlinechat group but also that NLP processing as well as processing of othercommunications between the users may be leveraged to identify errors orsources of confusion caused by a posted message. As such, remedialactions may be taken, e.g., a posted message may be edited, clarifyingmessages may be posted, etc.

In some nonlimiting examples, the communication system may check otherplatforms, e.g., other chat systems, emails, etc., when the editedmessage is accepted, e.g., by the originator of the posted message, bymost of the users in the chat the systems, etc., to determine whetherthe accepted changes are appropriate (i.e., correct) or whetheradditional changes are needed (whether in the current communicationsystem platform or within the other platforms such as other chatsystems). It is appreciated that in some embodiments, changes may beproposed in the other platforms as opposed to the current communicationplatform. The determination may be made by performing direct querying,by performing key word search, etc. The communication system mayautomatically make appropriate changes based on the determination thatchanges needed to be made and further based on the content of the postedmessage and that unedited message(s) has been edited. All or a subset ofthe users may be notified that changes have been made. It is appreciatedthat in some nonlimiting examples, the originator of the message inanother chat may be notified that a posted message originated by theoriginator should be edited to reflect these changes.

In yet another embodiment, the communication system may track othercommunications of the users of the current chat environment to determineif the unedited posted messages (i.e., information) has been used tomake a decision. For example, Chris may ask to change the port from 2 to5 in section 1(b). After the request from Chris, Raul in another chatwith developers may post a message stating “it seems I know where toroute this request, let's use port 2”. After Eric edits Chris' postabout ports, the communication system may determine that the post fromRaul with developers in another chat should also be edited. Thisdetermination may be made based on the content (key words 2 and port)and the context (timestamp associated with a message, originator of themessage, area of the message, recipients of the message, etc.). Incontrast, if Raul posts in another chat with his sailing friends amessage that we need to change a port for our yacht from 2^(nd) to5^(th) then he should not be notified because context of the message iscompletely different even when key words are similar. It is appreciatedthat the determination of whether changes need to be made in anothercommunication system, e.g., another chat environment, because of adecision that was made may be made based on context information fromanother chat or another communication, as illustrated above.

FIGS. 3A-3C show a flow chart for editing posted messages according tosome embodiments. The process starts at step 310 by receiving aplurality of textual data from one or more users within an online chatgroup, for example as described in FIGS. 2A-2K. At step 312, the processcontinues by rendering the plurality of textual data for each user ofthe online chat group, for example as described in FIGS. 2A-2K. Theprocess continues at step 314, enabling one user from the online chatgroup to edit a textual data originated by another user from the onlinechat group, for example as described in FIGS. 2B-2C, 2G, 2H, and 2K. Atstep 316, the process continues by rendering a notification on agraphical user interface (GUI) that the textual data originated by theanother user has been edited, for example as described in FIGS. 2C and2E. At step 318, the process continues in response to a user selectionthereof, accepting the edit, rejecting the edit, or further editing thetextual data, for example as described in FIGS. 2B, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2I, and2J. At step 320, the process continues by enabling the another user tomodify the textual data, for example as described in FIGS. 2B, 2C, 2E,2F, 2H, and 2K.

The process continues at step 322 optionally, in response to a userselection thereof, by inserting a comment associated with the edit, forexample as described in FIG. 2F. At step 324, the method optionallyincludes rendering the comment to a subset of the users within theonline chat group, for example as described in FIG. 2F. At step 326, themethod optionally includes rendering additional notification on the GUI,wherein the additional notification identifies the one user editing thetextual data, for example as described in FIGS. 2C, 2D, 2G, 2H, 2J, and2K. At step 328, the method includes rendering the edit to the textualdata to the one or more users, for example as described in FIG. 2K. Atstep 330, the method optionally includes calculating a confidence scoreassociated with the one user, wherein the confidence score reflects theaccuracy of the edit to the textual data, for example as described inFIGS. 2D and 21.

The process continues at step 332, where the method optionally includesprocessing the textual data using a natural language processing, forexample as described in FIG. 2K. At step 334, the method optionallyincludes modifying the textual data based on the processing, for exampleas described in FIG. 2K. At step 336, the method optionally includesnotifying the another user that the textual data has been modified, forexample as described in FIGS. 2C and 2E. At step 338, the methodoptionally includes processing electronic communication within theonline chat group and outside the online chat group to identify a sourceof confusion associated with the textual data, for example as describedin FIG. 2K. At step 340, the method optionally includes modifying thetextual data based on the processing, for example as described in FIG.2K. At step 342, the method optionally includes notifying the anotheruser that the textual data has been modified, for example as describedin FIGS. 2C and 2E.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an exemplary block diagram of a computer systemsuitable for editing posted messages in accordance with some embodimentsis shown. In some examples, computer system 1100 can be used toimplement computer programs, applications, methods, processes, or othersoftware to perform the above-described techniques and to realize thestructures described herein. Computer system 1100 includes a bus 1102 orother communication mechanism for communicating information, whichinterconnects subsystems and devices, such as a processor 1104, a systemmemory (“memory”) 1106, a storage device 1108 (e.g., ROM), a disk drive1110 (e.g., magnetic or optical), a communication interface 1112 (e.g.,modem or Ethernet card), a display 1114 (e.g., CRT or LCD), an inputdevice 1116 (e.g., keyboard), and a pointer cursor control 1118 (e.g.,mouse or trackball). In one embodiment, pointer cursor control 1118invokes one or more commands that, at least in part, modify the rulesstored, for example in memory 1106, to define the electronic messagepreview process.

According to some examples, computer system 1100 performs specificoperations in which processor 1104 executes one or more sequences of oneor more instructions stored in system memory 1106. Such instructions canbe read into system memory 1106 from another computer readable medium,such as static storage device 1108 or disk drive 1110. In some examples,hard-wired circuitry can be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions for implementation. In the example shown, systemmemory 1106 includes modules of executable instructions for implementingan operating system (“OS”) 1132, an application 1136 (e.g., a host,server, web services-based, distributed (i.e., enterprise) applicationprogramming interface (“API”), program, procedure or others). Further,application 1136 includes a module of executable instructions for onlinechat module 1138 that enables chat communication between the members ofthe online group, edit interface module 1140 to enable a user within theonline chat group to edit a posted message, NLP module 1141 to processthe posted electronic messages and identify context of the postedmessage, confidence score module 1142 to calculate a confidence scoreassociated with each user of the online chat group, and communicationprocessing module 1139 for processing communication within the onlinechat environment and outside to identify a source of confusionassociated with a particular posted electronic message.

The term “computer readable medium” refers, at least in one embodiment,to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor1104 for execution. Such a medium can take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks,such as disk drive 1110. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such assystem memory 1106. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copperwire, and fiber optics, including wires that comprise bus 1102.Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves,such as those generated during radio wave and infrared datacommunications.

Common forms of computer readable media include, for example, floppydisk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, electromagneticwaveforms, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

In some examples, execution of the sequences of instructions can beperformed by a single computer system 1100. According to some examples,two or more computer systems 1100 coupled by communication link 1120(e.g., LAN, PSTN, or wireless network) can perform the sequence ofinstructions in coordination with one another. Computer system 1100 cantransmit and receive messages, data, and instructions, including programcode (i.e., application code) through communication link 1120 andcommunication interface 1112. Received program code can be executed byprocessor 1104 as it is received, and/or stored in disk drive 1110, orother non-volatile storage for later execution. In one embodiment,system 1100 is implemented as a hand-held device. But in otherembodiments, system 1100 can be implemented as a personal computer(i.e., a desktop computer) or any other computing device. In at leastone embodiment, any of the above-described delivery systems can beimplemented as a single system 1100 or can implemented in a distributedarchitecture including multiple systems 1100.

In other examples, the systems, as described above can be implementedfrom a personal computer, a computing device, a mobile device, a mobiletelephone, a facsimile device, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”) orother electronic device.

In at least some of the embodiments, the structures and/or functions ofany of the above-described interfaces and panels can be implemented insoftware, hardware, firmware, circuitry, or a combination thereof. Notethat the structures and constituent elements shown throughout, as wellas their functionality, can be aggregated with one or more otherstructures or elements.

Alternatively, the elements and their functionality can be subdividedinto constituent sub-elements, if any. As software, the above-describedtechniques can be implemented using various types of programming orformatting languages, frameworks, syntax, applications, protocols,objects, or techniques, including C, Objective C, C++, C#, Flex™.,Fireworks™, Java™, Javascript™, AJAX, COBOL, Fortran, ADA, XML, HTML,DHTML, XHTML, HTTP, XMPP, and others. These can be varied and are notlimited to the examples or descriptions provided.

While the embodiments have been described and/or illustrated by means ofparticular examples, and while these embodiments and/or examples havebeen described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of theApplicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the embodimentsto such detail. Additional adaptations and/or modifications of theembodiments may readily appear to persons having ordinary skill in theart to which the embodiments pertain, and, in its broader aspects, theembodiments may encompass these adaptations and/or modifications.Accordingly, departures may be made from the foregoing embodimentsand/or examples without departing from the scope of the conceptsdescribed herein. The implementations described above and otherimplementations are within the scope of the following claims.

1. A method, comprising: receiving a plurality of textual chat data fromone or more users within an online chat group, wherein the online chatgroup is created using a communication system and wherein the onlinechat group facilitates exchange of electronic data among the one or moreusers within the online chat group and wherein the exchange ofelectronic data includes the plurality of textual chat data; renderingthe plurality of textual chat data for each user of the online chatgroup; enabling one user from the online chat group to edit a content ofa previously shared textual chat data from the plurality of textual chatdata that is originated by another user from the online chat group,wherein the edit to the content of the previously shared textual chatdata is at least one of adding a character to the previously sharedtextual chat data or removing a character from the previously sharedtextual chat data; rendering a notification on a graphical userinterface (GUI) that the previously shared textual chat data originatedby the another user has been edited; and in response to a user selectionthereof, accepting the edit, rejecting the edit, or further editing thepreviously shared textual chat data.
 2. The method as described in claim1, further comprising enabling the another user to modify the previouslyshared textual chat data.
 3. The method as described in claim 1, furthercomprising: in response to a user selection thereof, inserting a commentassociated with the edit; and rendering the comment to a subset of theusers within the online chat group.
 4. The method as described in claim1, wherein the user selection is received from the another useroriginating the previously shared textual chat data.
 5. The method asdescribed in claim 1, wherein the online chat group is within an onlineconferencing environment.
 6. The method as described in claim 1, whereinthe previously shared textual chat data is transcription of a video oraudio conference.
 7. The method as described in claim 1, furthercomprising rendering additional notification on the GUI, wherein theadditional notification identifies the one user editing the previouslyshared textual chat data.
 8. The method as described in claim 1, furthercomprising rendering the edit to the previously shared textual chat datato the one or more users.
 9. The method as described in claim 1, furthercomprising calculating a confidence score associated with the one user,wherein the confidence score reflects the accuracy of the edit to thepreviously shared textual chat data.
 10. The method as described inclaim 9, wherein the confidence score is calculated based on prior editsmade by the one user, a relationship between the one user and otherusers within the online chat group, or expertise background of the oneuser in comparison to the content of the previously shared textual chatdata.
 11. The method as described in claim 1, further comprising:processing the previously shared textual chat data using a naturallanguage processing; modifying the previously shared textual chat databased on the processing; and notifying the another user that thepreviously shared textual chat data has been modified.
 12. The method asdescribed in claim 1, further comprising: processing electroniccommunication within the online chat group and outside the online chatgroup to identify a source of confusion associated with the previouslyshared textual chat data; modifying the previously shared textual chatdata based on the processing; and notifying the another user that thepreviously shared textual chat data has been modified.
 13. Abrowser-based method, comprising: rendering a plurality of textual chatdata for each user of an online chat group, wherein the online chatgroup is created using a communication system and wherein the onlinechat group facilitates exchange of electronic data among the one or moreusers within the online chat group and wherein the exchange ofelectronic data includes the plurality of textual chat data; receivingedits to a content of a previously shared textual chat data of theplurality of textual chat data from one user of the online chat group,wherein the edits to the content of the previously shared textual chatdata is at least one of changing a character within the textual chatdata or adding a character to the previously shared textual chat data orremoving a character from the previously shared textual chat data;rendering a notification on a graphical user interface (GUI) that thepreviously shared textual chat data has been edited; and in response toa user selection thereof, accepting the edits, rejecting the edits, orfurther editing the previously shared textual chat data.
 14. Thebrowser-based method as described in claim 13, wherein the previouslyshared textual chat data is originated by another user of the onlinechat group than originator of the previously shared textual chat data.15. The browser-based method as described in claim 14, wherein thenotification is rendered to the another user.
 16. The browser-basedmethod as described in claim 13, further comprising: in response to auser selection thereof, inserting a comment associated with the edits;and rendering the comment to a subset of the users within the onlinechat group.
 17. The browser-based method as described in claim 13,wherein the user selection is received from a user that originated thepreviously shared textual chat data.
 18. The browser-based method asdescribed in claim 13, wherein the online chat group is within an onlineconferencing environment, and wherein the previously shared textual datais transcription of audio data from the online conferencing environment.19. The browser-based method as described in claim 13, furthercomprising rendering identity of the one user editing the previouslyshared textual chat data on the GUI.
 20. The browser-based method asdescribed in claim 13, further comprising rendering the edits to thepreviously shared textual chat data to the users in the online chatgroup.
 21. The browser-based method as described in claim 13, furthercomprising calculating a confidence score associated with the one user,wherein the confidence score reflects the accuracy of the edits to thepreviously shared textual chat data, and wherein the confidence score iscalculated based on prior edits made by the one user, a relationshipbetween the one user and other users within the online chat group, orexpertise background of the one user in comparison to the content of thepreviously shared textual chat data.
 22. The browser-based method asdescribed in claim 13, further comprising: processing another previouslyshared textual data of the plurality of textual chat data using anatural language processing; modifying the another previously sharedtextual chat data based on the processing; and notifying a user thatoriginated the another previously shared textual data that the anotherpreviously shared textual chat data has been modified.
 23. Thebrowser-based method as described in claim 13, further comprising:processing electronic communication within the online chat group andoutside the online chat group to identify a source of confusionassociated with another previously shared textual chat data of theplurality of textual chat data; and notifying a user that originated theanother previously shared textual chat data that the another previouslyshared textual chat data has caused confusion.
 24. The browser-basedmethod as described in claim 23, further comprising modifying theanother previously shared textual chat data.
 25. A method, comprising:rendering a first textual chat data, received from a first user, tousers within an online chat group, wherein the online chat group iscreated using a communication system and wherein the online chat groupfacilitates exchange of electronic data among the one or more userswithin the online chat group and wherein the exchange of electronic dataincludes the plurality of textual chat data; enabling a subset of userswithin the online chat group to edit the first textual chat data,wherein the edit to the textual chat data is at least one of adding acharacter to the first textual chat data or removing a character fromthe first textual chat data; receiving edits to the first textual chatdata; and notifying the first user that edits to the first textual chatdata have been received.
 26. The method as described in claim 25,further comprising: processing a second textual chat data received froma second user and rendered to the users of the online chat group using anatural language processing; modifying the second textual chat databased on the processing; and notifying the second user that the secondtextual chat data has been modified.
 27. The method as described inclaim 25, further comprising: rendering the first textual chat data andthe edits to the users of the online chat group.
 28. The method asdescribed in claim 25, further comprising: in response to a selection bythe first user, accepting the edits, rejecting the edits, or furtherediting the first textual chat data.
 29. The method as described inclaim 25, further comprising calculating a confidence score associatedwith a second user editing the first textual chat data, wherein theconfidence score reflects the accuracy of the edits to the first textualchat data, and wherein the confidence score is calculated based on prioredits made by the second user, a relationship between the second userand other users within the online chat group, or expertise background ofthe second user in comparison to a content of the textual chat data. 30.The method as described in claim 25, further comprising: processingelectronic communication within the online chat group and outside theonline chat group to identify a source of confusion associated with asecond textual chat data rendered to the online chat group, wherein thesecond textual chat data is originated by a second user; and notifyingthe second user that the second textual chat data has caused confusion.